MICHAEL OWEN believes Wayne Rooney will not only break the England goalscoring record but could set a new target that will be impossible to catch.

Rooney goes into Sunday's Euro 2016 qualifier with Slovenia in Ljublijana on 47 goals, two short of Sir Bobby Charlton's record.

At the age of 29, with 104 England caps behind him and a relatively free injury record, Owen believes that Rooney will demolish the honour that Owen himself once looked so likely to take for himself.

The former England goalscorer, who ended his own international career with 40 goals, is still bitter that his chance of taking the record effectively ended when Fabio Capello took over as England manager and cast him into the wilderness.

But he has no doubt that Rooney will do it and said: "Wayne will probably go on to break both the England record and the Manchester United record as well, which would be an amazing feat."

Charlton also holds the United record of 249 goals - just 19 ahead of Rooney.

Owen said: "It's possible to do, when you are a top-class player playing in a top-class team and you are consistently playing for England - it's very possible.

"Wayne is going to do it, it's only a matter of time, certainly in an England shirt. I had a good run at that record, thinking that, at one point, I would break it but obviously my international career was cut short as soon as Capello was named manager.

"But Wayne will be the top England striker for a long time now and inevitably, with his quality, he will continue to score goals and probably set a target that's maybe not going to be impossible to catch, but would certainly take a good one to beat it."

Owen believes that, despite the emergence of Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge and more recently Tottenham's Harry Kane, there are precious few players coming through the England ranks who can challenge Rooney as an out and out striker.

He also believes that, as Rooney gets older, he will not have to adapt his game so much to stay in contention, as blistering pace has never been a major factor in his game. And he has also played frequently in midfield and in wide positions for United, so a switch to a deeper role later in his career will not come as a shock.

GETTY

Wayne Rooney in training with England

Owen, speaking at the launch of BT Sport Europe, the new home of the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, said: "The number one thing for Wayne is obviously his quality. You don't get to play for United and England without having that.

"But also, he very rarely gets injured. He's very strong from that point of view. He's always out there, always playing 40 to 50 games per season and when you have got that consistency it enables you to break a lot more records.

"I had to change my game as I got older. But Wayne is not the kind of player that loses a yard of pace and if he does it won't affect him as much as someone like myself.

"Wayne has longevity. And he could prolong his career in midfield. He does not rely on blistering speed, so he is not pushing his body to the absolute limit for every sprint."

One criticism levelled against Rooney is that he has never really shone in a tournament. But Owen said: "Wayne's tournament was in the Euros in Portugal in 2004. Then he broke his foot and that was that. But he was blistering in that tournament, absolutely on fire. But there is no question that in terms of big games he performs.

"It's easy to say he has not had a major tournament - but when have England recently? We have been disappointing but it is very difficult as a striker when your team are not playing well.

"Wayne has not got much competition. Obviously there is Sturridge. If he is fit and firing then he would be a starter, but below that, I don't see much.

"That's one of the reasons why I think he will go on to play for England for years and probably make it a difficult haul to overtake."

Owen still had time for another dig at Capello, who axed him from England duty in 2008, saying: "I thought I would beat the record. When I was on 40 goals I was still only 27. He [Capello] never explained why he left me out."